Icy Fire
by chrometitan
Summary: "Haruno Sakura is not weak." When spring comes strolling into Neji's life, he has no clue what what to make of it. He's intrigued. He's attracted. He's confused. Where did the snivelling civilian Uchiha fangirl go and who is this hardened woman standing in her place? Nejisaku.
1. Homecoming

It was winter. Sakura ambled aimlessly and took in the snow covered village with some amount of fondness.

The murmurs of the village were less pronounced in the winter. The voices muted as if they lay buried like the buildings underneath a layer of snow.

It had been quite some time since she'd last walked these very streets.

 _'Sakura-chaaaaan wanna go to Ichiraku with me?_

' _Maa Sakura-chan don't call Icha Icha trash. It breaks my heart.'_

 _'You're annoying.'_

Sakura laughed a bit at the last recollection. She remembered how those words had broken her. Hurt her so much she thought she'd never forgive him.

 _Teme_ , she chuckled a bit.

That Sakura was gone. The one that mooned over a broken boy. Who thought she could save him when she couldn't even defend herself.

 _Weak_. _She'd been weak._

Not anymore. She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of the village. The village smelt like pine trees even in the middle of winter, like the kind of hope even layers of ice couldn't bury.

She was home.

It was late and so she didn't meet many people. Just the occasional shinobi who recognized her and meandered her way to welcome her back. She greeted all of them with an air of not-quite indifference - somewhere between interest and nonchalance.

"You've matured" remarked Tenten as she closed up shop. Sakura took her comment in stride and chuckled quietly.

"Gonna get me up to speed about the goings-on while I've been away?" Sakura raised a brow, looking expectantly as Tenten dusted her hands off on her pants.

Despite the late hour, the kunoichi did not refuse. She was just as interested in what Sakura had been up to, so she complied. She guided her to a new okonomiyaki shop that had opened an year ago.

Sakura was pleased to know of its existence and made a mental note to try all the dishes there during her stay once she'd seen the menu.

She was contemplating what to get when she sensed a vaguely familiar chakra signature approaching. However, deeming it to be unhostile she continued with her perusal of the menu.

"Tenten and...Haruno. May I join you two?" Sakura hadn't even formulated a reply but Tenten had already pulled him down and was going on about polite hardasses who couldn't be informal if their lives depended upon it.

As soon as he sat down Sakura made eye contact with him.

 _Neji_.

"Hyuuga-san. What brings you here so late at night?" Her eyes crinkled as she smiled briefly.

Neji hadn't answered. He was busy looking at her, analysing her, determining her worth. He didn't have an air of arrogance while he did so. He seemed to be evaluating how much she'd grown as a person since he last saw her five years ago.

She seemed amused and smirked a bit as he continued staring at her silently. Only a few seconds had passed, when his gaze turned dull.

"I could ask you the same thing Haruno," he said cocking an eyebrow up, "but the better question would be - what brings you here at all?"

Tenten who had been quiet the entire time, pointed a pair of chopsticks at him getting his attention immediately.

"Sakura is going to tell us eventually, but at least let the poor girl eat before you start grilling her." She turned towards the counter "Maiko-san! Two orders of vegetable and bacon and one special please!"

"Well that saves me the trouble of having to decide by myself" Sakura grinned good naturedly. Tenten merely shrugged and told her the longer she looked at the menu the harder it would become to choose.

Neji had watched these proceedings with a blank countenance. Although, something in his eyes told Sakura he was amused with his teamate's actions.

 _He's gotten more handsome. His uniform fits him quite well - and he's no longer an ass._ _Yes,_ Sakura concluded, _Neji had grown into adulthood quite nicely._ Neji had noticed Sakura looking at him, but made no move to call her out on it. Her gaze was not lustful, not predatory, just mildly apprecaitive.

And it had not gone unnoticed, that there was a calm that surrounded her. There was none of the volatility she exhibited in her youth, no weakness - especially (and he was very thankful for it) not a wink of a blush in her cheeks, a stammer in her voice or a hesitance in her gaze.

She met the ice in his eyes with a quiet serenity in her own. Neji recognized it for what it was _. Confidence. She knows her strength and she knows it well enough to not cower._ She was a battle hardened kunoichi now.

Neji was surprised to realize that _this_ was a woman he found infinitely appealing.

Sakura was the first to break the silence. "I'm assuming you've made ANBU or at least jounin by now?"

Neji nodded "ANBU" He moved his hand so that the waiter could place a bowl of the batter and cutlery for them to start frying their food. Tenten had taking charge of frying their food all the while asking Sakura about her training regime with Tsunade.

Sakura regaled them with stories of her shishou and her travels with her as the protege. Neji and Tenten listened attentively, asking questions, making comments in-between bites.

Tenten finished earlier than the other two and insisted on paying for all of them, enthusiastically telling them that it was her treat. Sakura and Neji relented after a few minutes of trying to persuade her. She wished them both good night and disappeared in a flurry of leaves.

Neji returned his attention to the contemplative girl in front of him.

"Haruno," he called, "You never answered my question."

Sakura paused mid-bite and regarded him curiously. She must have found what she was looking for, because she smiled a bit.

"Because Konoha feels like home again."

Neji ruminated on her reply. Long after she'd left, long after he'd gotten into bed. He had a vague idea about what she had meant, but he had felt the need to make sure, had needed to see her again, had needed answers because he believed that was the only way he'd get her out of his head.

 _Haruno Sakura, what has changed?_


	2. Reacquainted

Sakura woke up feeling refreshed and somewhat confused. It took her a minute to realize she was back in her old apartment.

 _Home. I'm home_.

"Kaka sensei, ohaiyo!"

The copy nin, looked up surprised to see her this early in the morning. He put down the documents he'd been glaring at and his eyes crinkled affectionately.

"Maa, Sakura chan look at you - you're all grown up eh?" He pouted then "Ne, you make your sensei feel like an old man, oh where has my youth gone" He was swivelling in his chair now.

"Why, you are absolutely right sensei, your hair's all white. I think you fit the profile of a Hokage very well." Sakura chuckled at her sensei's antics. It seemed that no amount of responsibility would change the man.

"Oh, by the way, I had a favor to ask you."

Kakashi perked up at that. He noted the mischievious smile on his student's face and his own face lit up.

"Kakashiiiiii, why'd you call me and teme to Ichiraku? Not that I'm complaining but you never pay for anything."

Naruto had nearly had an aneurysm when a young genin delivered the Hokage's message.

 _Ichiraku Ramen. 2.30. My treat_.

In fact, Naruto had been so flabbergasted he had kicked down Sasuke's door for an immediate meeting where he frantically told the annoyed Uchiha that Kakashi had been kidnapped and someone had sent a note in his stead as a trap.

Fast forwarding 2 hours of Sasuke beating some sense into Naruto about not breaking people's very very expensive doors, here they were.

Sai strolled in a minute later just as Kakashi was starting to soothe Naruto.

Kakashi looked at the boys solemnly, and they, noting his change in demeanor tensed up too.

"Well, I've been really concerned about something...", he looked into the distance and then leaned in slowly.

The boys leaned in as well and held their breaths.

Not one of them noticed their pink haired teammate slide into a chair right behind them nor did they see her wink at Kakashi.

"The thing is...I think I've seen Sakura's ghost around here. I keep on seeing her, but she just sits silently. It's like no one else can see her, y'know?"

"What? Kakashi thats ridiculous!"

"Kakashi what kind of joke is this??"

"Old man perhaps you've finally become what the books call senile?"

Kakashi banged his fist on the bar. The harsh sound silenced everyone in the shop.

"I'm telling you, she's a ghost dammit!" He gulped. His voice lowered to an apprehensive whisper.

"I could be washing my face, and she'd appear right behind me in the mirror, just staring. And as soon as I'd turn around she'd disappear. And..."

Kakashi stopped and they found his eyes dart to their backs and fix themselves to a point.

They had whipped around almost immediately and even though none of them would say it they felt their hearts stop for a few seconds in mind numbing fear.

Every shinobi in the village swore that they heard three of the most high pitched screams ever that afternoon.

Sakura and Kakashi had laughed themselves to tears while her male team mates looked on sullenly.

"Sakura-chan, you're so mean." Naruto huffed and puffed.

Sakura to her credit didn't look the least bit put out by Naruto's pouting, Sasuke's murderous glare and Sai's signature blank countenance.

Neji Hyuuga had almost slipped of a roof when he had heard the screams. Having made sure that no one was in danger from a bunch of passers-by, he headed out to training ground 10 for his routine meditation.

Two hours later, his loudmouthed team mates broke his concentration. They pulled him up and told him the latest gossip.

Well, Tenten told him the latest gossip and Lee had a glazed look in his eyes.

"It's only been a day and Konoha's already come to life. Man, I missed Sakura," said Tenten as she related the events of the afternoon.

It was evening when he bumped into her. She was exiting the Hyuuga compound, saying her goodbyes to Hinata it seemed.

His cousin seemed to be in high spirits and even his uncle, who had a stick so far up his ass it was a miracle he could walk, had some semblance of a smile on his face.

His uncle having noticed his presence had asked him to escort Sakura to her apartment even though she insisted they need not burden "Hyuuga-san" with such an unnecessary task.

In the end she gave up. And here they were - walking home in comfortable silence.

She was humming something indistinct but pleasant and Neji just let himself breathe in her presence.

A cold breeze caressed her tresses, and the moon lit her up like a fairy - a really mischievious fairy given her doings this afternoon.

Her breath came out in small visible puffs. Her lips glistened with some substance. _Is that gloss?_ Neji forced himself to stop his train of thoughts.

He'd met her twice post arrival and he found himself caught in a web of curiosity unlike any he had experienced before.

 _Sakura_. He found himself whispering her name as his lips caressed her own. He could hear their breaths mingling. The small twitches of her fingers as she held onto his shirt lightly. The subtle graze of their chests as the distance between them closed for a fraction of a second.

Everything in that moment felt electrifying. Everything that had led to that moment had been electrifying.

They had reached her door and she had turned to thank him. There had been a brief moment where her eyes had connected with his, and to Neji it had felt significant somehow - those glassy pools of emeralds, that tiny sincere tilt of her lips, the slow bat of her eyelashes - he had been bewitched.

 _The little minx_. The thought had inserted itself into his mind as he had reached to cup her face. Sakura hadn't even blinked. She had stood there gazing at him with something akin to curiosity in her eyes.

Neji tucked her hair behind her ears and planted a sweet kiss on her cheek near her ear. His hands ached to hold her close. Her breath curled up on his neck and it felt unbearably pleasurable.

Slowly, they parted. Something had shifted in both their gazes, it felt like a silent acknowledgement that what had transpired in those precious few moments had altered their relationship irrevoccably.

Neji spent the night turning over the events of the day.

There was no prelude to his attraction. There was only a calm acceptance.

 _Sakura is mine, as I am hers._


End file.
